Vopak sells Durban terminal stake

Energy Minister Dipuo Peters welcomed Vopak's sale, calling it a "momentous transaction" involving a black economic empowerment (BEE) player.

This comes after her recent criticism of the energy industry for performing "dismally" on enterprise development, skills development, employment equity and preferential procurement following the release of an audit conducted by independent auditor Moloto Solutions.

The audit, which covers the period 2000-10, said black ownership was at 18,91%, with black women accounting for just 6,72% of this figure.

"The partnership between Reatile and Vopak is the first partnership where there is significant BEE equity involvement in the petroleum infrastructure space in SA," the minister said.

She said there were not many players in the energy sector. "Vopak being one of the few that operates within the board and it has taken a giant leap in allowing Reatile to purchase 30% equity in the company," Peters said.

Vopak said it was looking at expanding its operations in SA involving petroleum and storage for chemicals and vegetable oils.

It is also planning to build a terminal in Heidelberg, Lesedi. "The terminal will ensure there are new players facilitated through the involvement by national oil company PetroSA in making sure there is enough capacity for new players to also be involved in distributing and marketing fuel alongside established oil majors," Peters said.

Source: Business Day